So I have had this chapter done since like three days after my last update but I wasn't sure about posting it. I feel like maybe this isn't becoming the story people really want. But IDK, I could be wrong.
"I don't know about this Rachel." Quinn said, walking behind her and Brittany. Santana mumbled an agreement but continued walking in stride with Quinn.
Rachel had talked the girls into going with her to the Berry house so she could get her copy of Beauty and the Beast, along with the gorgeous Lady Gaga dress. Ever since the talk she had with Shelby, the dress and DVD were on her mind. Shelby wasn't going to let her go over or take her to go get the things but she really wanted them. At first she had told the girls she was going alone but Brittany wasn't convinced her going alone would be a good idea and once Brittany said she was going, Rachel got the other two to go.
"It's fine Quinn." Rachel rolled her eyes. "We'll be back long before mom gets home. It's no big deal."
Quinn closed her mouth and dropped her eyes to the phone clutched into her hand. Shelby should be called right? But Rachel might not be okay with that. Quinn pursed her lips and tapped the back of her phone, thinking about what to do. She eventually placed her phone in her pocket, deciding she didn't want to start a fight with Rachel and really, Rachel was right, they'd be home before Shelby anyway. She guessed it wouldn't hurt in the end.
Quinn wasn't the only one questioning this. Rachel herself was beginning to worry if this was a good idea. Nervous butterflies fluttered in her belly as she got a feeling maybe she was wrong for doing this. Rounding the corner, Rachel's childhood home came into view and she scoffed at the thought. Childhood? Some childhood. With feeling of her fathers' taking her childhood from her, Rachel became slightly angry. Angry enough to push the butterflies away and keep walking the four house distance to her fathers' home.
The night Shelby had discovered the four were living together, Rachel's car and house keys had been in her purse. They remained there, right at Rachel's finger tips as she stood at the front door. It took a moment for her to get the two door locks unlocked but finally she did it and pushed the door open, letting her sisters in behind her. She closed the door and figured the girls could wait for her while she ran upstairs to grab the movie from the collection of DVDs and CDs from her bookcase. Stopping in her closet, Rachel grabbed a reusable grocery bag and grabbed a couple more things, then headed downstairs.
"Okay, I have the DVD." Rachel said, tucking the sleeve of one of her favorite sweaters back into the bag as she walked into the livingroom. "Just have to go down to the storage room to get my..." Her voice trailing off as she noticed the room was empty. "Guys?"
Rachel turned around to see if they had gone into the kitchen but the light on from the basement caught her attention. Maybe they had gone to the basement to get her dress for her? Rachel placed the bag at the top of the stairs and bounded down the stairs, her long hair bobbing as she went. She walked across the room. A tall man pounced from the floor, coming from his hiding spot along the couch, and knocked Rachel to the ground. Rachel let out a scream but was quickly shut up by a stinging slap to her face.
Covering her cheek, Rachel faced her attacker. "Daddy?"
"You have a lot of nerve showing up here." Hiram growled, standing up with a fist full of Rachel's hair, getting her to her feet. "And you brought some of your friends, I see."
"Where are they?" Rachel asked, getting to her tip toes to loosen the pain from having her hair pulled.
"Your father is taking care of them." Hiram chuckled with venom.
Leroy had seen Rachel and her friends coming down the street while he was in the front room reading a newspaper and had alerted Hiram. A quick plan was to get the three friends separated from their daughter so they could handle her without interruption. So far, their plan had gone right. Leroy had the cheerleaders in the storage room, each with tape over their mouths and their hands bound behind their backs, so they couldn't yell and their phones were taken away.
Leroy exited the storage room, shutting the light off and closing the door. He walked over to Rachel, running his fingers over Rachel's slightly stinging and red cheek. She jumped at the touch and Leroy continued to brush her cheek with his fingers, pulling his hand away for only a moment before he slapped her. She officially began to cry but had to be careful to not move much as Hiram still had a hold of her hair.
"Take her upstairs." Leroy said, glaring down at Rachel. "Little girls who tell need to be punished."
Rachel was shoved to the ground by Hiram and told to get up. She got to her feet as fast as she could and scurried up the stairs with instructions to go to her old bedroom. Hiram gave her another shove once she reached the bedroom and she laid sprawled out on the floor until Hiram ordered her to her feet. Hiram searched through Rachel's room, looking for something and Rachel used this time to take her phone from her pocket and she tucked it just a few inches under her bed, using her feet. She knew if found, it would be broken or taken away.
Rachel was told to take off her clothes and lay on the bed. She was taken back by the statement and scared to do so but Hiram screamed at her to do it and she made quick work of taking off her blouse and tank top. Her skirt took a little longer to come off as her fingers wouldn't stop trembling long enough for her to grip the zipper but she managed to do so and it slid down her soft legs, pooling around her feet. All the while. Rachel did her best to make sure the clothes landed near her bed but not too close so her phone would be noticed. She laid on the bed and Hiram used one of her favored headbands, ripping it in half, to tie her hands to the headboard.
Leroy finally came up the stairs with a thin black cable like the ones on the backs of TVs. It was no longer than 3 feet and he held it looped in half with the metal pieces in his palm. Rachel swallowed the last bit of moisture in her mouth and bit the inside of her cheek. Closer he got to the bed, the harder Rachel bit and she could taste the blood on her tongue.
"You've been bad Rachel. When you're bad you have to be punished." Leroy said.
"Punished?" Rachel stammered. "For what?"
"You told on us." Hiram said, standing at the foot of the bed.
"But I-" Rachel was cut of by Leroy, who struck her bare stomach with the cable. Rachel let out a loud scream and Leroy shushed her by placing a hand over her mouth.
"Scream again you little bitch." Leroy threatened. Just to be sure Rachel didn't scream, Hiram placed a strip of duct tape, from the roll Leroy had brought up with him, over Rachel's mouth.
Rachel had lost count of how many more times she was hit, but she knew it was over ten times. Her eyes were red and a river of tears streamed down the sides of her face, pooling in her ears and dripping to the pillow under her head. Leroy landed one more lashing to her burning red belly and he then untied her hands, taking a hold of one of them to pull her off the bed. She hissed in pain at the sudden movement and at the landing on her belly.
"Get dressed." Hiram said, kicking the edge of the bed that was just inches from her face.
Rachel got dressed, putting on her tank top and then her skirt. To get her phone, Rachel got on her knees and picked up her sweater, quickly reaching under for the phone and tucking it in her sweater. Instead of putting on the garment, Rachel balled up her sweater and held it against her, her fathers not noticing at all. She was walked, pushed rather, to the stairs and Rachel held onto the railing tightly until she reached the basement. She was grabbed by the arm and roughly walked to the storage room, where the other girls were being held. The night was turned on.
All three had red eyes, that matched Rachel and were struggling to get free but were obviously unsuccessful. Having heard Rachel's first scream, the three sets of eyes scanned Rachel's body but only saw two marks on her legs from where Hiram had used one of Rachel's own belts to strike her. She placed her sweater down and a powerful hand wrapped around her arm and slam her into a wall face first, muffled screams came from the four girls and Rachel's nose hurt but didn't bleed and she was slightly dazed at first. Her body was pressed against the wall as her hands were yanked behind her back and secured by more tape, then she was pushed to the ground, toppling on Santana's legs. Once again the lights went out and the door was shut and locked. Foot steps climbed the stairs and came to a stop and after several long minutes, Rachel felt it was safe to try to get to her phone.
Rachel unfortunately had to roll onto her belly and she tried to not make any noise to alarm her sisters that something was wrong just yet. Pushing her legs under her body, Rachel used them to help push her to a kneeling position. She walked on her knees in the direction of her sweater, using the slight light from the crack of the door and felt her knees on the thick material. Turning her body around, Rachel sat on the sweater and used her bound hands to search for her phone. Holding her phone in her hands, Rachel uncomfortably craned her neck to look over her shoulders as she fumbled to dial Shelby's number. Dropping the phone, Rachel cried out, worried tears falling down her face.
She heard footsteps coming down the stairs, as the storage closet was right below and she collapsed on top of it, praying to God, they didn't see it. Leroy returned upstairs after collecting the cable that had been carried downstairs in case Rachel tried anything. The men were trying to figure out what to do with the girls, making sure no one ever found out about what had happened. Rachel let out a muffled sigh of relief and struggled to get a hold of her phone again.
She got into the same position on her knees, looking over her shoulder. She had one missed call by Shelby and the adrenaline began pumping through her veins. The light of her phone lit up the screen and she motioned for Santana to come over by her. Santana did and sat on her knees. Rachel wiggled behind her and bent her upper body until her mouth was level with Santana's hands. Santana figured out to help Rachel get the tape off her mouth and held tight as Rachel pulled. Whimpering at the torturous pain.
Sitting up straight, Rachel began to attempt to call her mom back but Shelby's name appeared on the caller ID before she could finish. She hit answer and dropped the phone on the floor and laid back down, taking a few seconds to be able to place her head on top of the phone. She could hear Shelby lecturing and she finally spoke out.
"Mommy, help us." Rachel cried out.
"Rachel? Honey, what's wrong? Rachel?" Shelby yelled out, her heart dropping.
"Mommy please you have to hurry." Rachel sobbed, her voice getting louder than she realized. "Dad and-"
Rachel's eyes widened in horror when the door opened. Hiram and Leroy had heard some noise and rushed downstairs, finding the source to be Rachel on her phone. The last thing Shelby heard was Rachel screaming for her and the line went dead from Leroy stomping on it.
Shelby hung up the phone and raced out to her car, whipping out of the driveway. Her knuckles were white as she held on to the steering wheel. The four minute drive to the berry house seemed much longer and Shelby was about ready to explode. She had already called 911 and were on their way to the Berry house. Jumping out of the car after throwing it into park, Shelby ran into the house. Rachel screamed from upstairs and Shelby heard one of the men shouting and she bolted up the stairs.
"Get out here, you little bitch." Hiram yelled, striking the wall of the hallway with his belt.
Shelby was startled by the motion and had to regain her composure. Out of fear for her daughter and rage, Shelby picked up a small statue sitting on the table in the hallway and hurled it at Hiram, knocking him to the floor with blood gushing from the side of his head. She moved into the bedroom to find Leroy advancing on the chair in the corner of her room, kicking the ottoman out of the way. Rachel's bare feet were sticking out under the chair and Shelby got the man's attention from the noise of Hiram getting knocked out.
"Get out of my house!" He screamed at Shelby.
"Not without my daughter." Shelby yelled back.
"You're not getting her back until I am done with her." Leroy glared. "Rachel get out from behind there and show your mother what a worthless bitch you are. NOW!"
"Stay back there, Rachel." Shelby said, as gently as she could. Help was on the way and she needed to protect Rachel until then.
"Shut up." Leroy told Shelby, backhanding her across the face.
Shelby fell to the floor, reeling from the sting on her face. Rachel cried out mommy and crawled over to her mom, ignoring the pain she had. Shelby looked up at Rachel and was about to tell her she was okay, when she saw Leroy was about to strike Rachel with the cable. In one swift move, Shelby pulled Rachel to her and rolled on top of the teen, getting hit in the back by Leroy. Rachel heard the second strike and Shelby screamed out once more as Leroy kicked her in her side. Moments after the third strike Shelby endured, five police officers stormed into the room, ending the whole thing.
"Mommy." Rachel sobbed, her fingers twisted in her mom's shirt, holding on to Shelby for dear life. "Mommy, I'm so sorry."
"Shhh. Shhh. It's alright, baby. Everything is gonna be alright." Shelby cooed, getting off of Rachel but letting the girl hold on to her.
Hiram was woken up and put into handcuffs, along with Leroy. Paramedics wrapped Rachel in a blanket and got her settled on the stretcher with Shelby walking beside her, insisting that her own wounds be ignored. Rachel, held on to Shelby's hand after she was settled in the ambulance. It took some coaxing but Shelby got Rachel to let go of her so she could get in her car and follow the ambulance to the hospital. She wanted to go with Rachel as much as Rachel wanted her too but someone needed to drive the car to the hospital. Shelby turned around, heading back into the house but was stopped by the paramedics bringing the other girls out.
"Are you guys, okay?" Shelby asked, brushing off another medic who wanted to check Shelby out. None of the girls were badly hurt, just a bruise or two from being roughly handled by Hiram or Leroy. "Thank God, you guys are okay." She wrapped her arms around all three, who broke down into tears.
"Excuse me, Ms. Corcoran?" An officer said, coming up to the group. "I know you're going through a hard time right now but we'd like to get you and the girls to the hospital to be looked at and to take your statements."
"Yes, of course." Shelby nodded.
Shelby was allowed to take the girls with her to the hospital and she pulled into a parking spot at the ER entrance, running into the building with the girls behind her, hissing slightly as her blouse rubbed against the marks on her back. The police officers had arrived to the hospital before them and greeted the family at the door, telling Shelby where they'd be and that the girls would be brought to her after the questionings. A nurse led Shelby to the room Rachel was occupying and Rachel reached out, begging for Shelby. The mom pushed between two nurses and sat next to Rachel, holding her but trying not to hurt her. Rachel buried her face into Shelby's chest, as the woman carefully comforted her.
"Ma'am, we need to take a look at Rachel." The doctor said.
"Of course." Shelby nodded, moving away from Rachel, but the girl wasn't having it. "Honey, sweetheart look at me." Shelby continued once she had Rachel's attention. "The doctor needs to look at your injuries. I'm going to be right over there in the corner until he is done. Okay? I'll be right here."
"Okay." Rachel whimpered.
Rachel sat back in the bed, keeping her eyes trained on her mom, while the doctor and nurses examined her. When Dr. Counts finished with Rachel, nearly 20 minutes later, he peeled off the gloves, tossing them in the trash can.
"Can we talk out in the hall?" He said, pulling back the door to allow Shelby to walk by him.
"How bad is it?" Shelby asked.
"Rachel will have several nasty bruises for awhile but thankfully she doesn't have any broken bones." The doctor said. "She should take it easy for a day or two and even then, she'll need to keep activities to a minimum."
"Thank you." Shelby sighed.
A new nurse from the nurse's station walked up and handed Dr. Counts a thin folder. He opened it and looked over Rachel's chart, then glanced up at Shelby.
"Everything looks good but I do want to do a few X-rays just in case. She should be good to go if everything comes back okay. Once I get a look at the film, I'll come by and check on Rachel."
"Great." Shelby smiled.
"I have a few other patients to tend to but I will be back around once those x-rays come in." Counts said, leaving Shelby to go back in by Rachel.
Shelby walked into the room, closing the door behind her. Rachel's eyes moved from the TV to where her mother was standing, studying her face but she couldn't quite figure out what Shelby was feeling. The mom wasn't exactly sure what she was feeling either. Mostly she was relieved that Rachel was safe and hadn't been seriously injured but another part of her was mad. She was mad at Rachel for leaving the house when told not too. Although her anger was being concealed with fear. She had no idea how this was going to affect Rachel and she couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if Rachel hadn't been able to give her the hint that she was at her dads'.
Rachel coughing and clutching her stomach, caused the mom to move to the bed. Taking the cup of ice water one of the nurses had left for Rachel, Shelby let Rachel stop coughing and held the straw to the girl's lips.
"Small sips." Shelby guided so the girl didn't choke on the liquid. Rachel took a little bit more of the water and Shelby placed it back on the portable tray.
"Mom-" Rachel opened her mouth but Shelby took control of the conversation.
"Why did you go there alone?" Shelby asked.
"I wasn't alone." Rachel replied, knowing it wasn't going to get her anywhere. "We went because I wanted to get somethings from my old house."
"Like?"
"The DVD you bought for me and my Lady Gaga dress."
"You risked your lives over a movie and dress?" Shelby exclaimed.
"I didn't know they'd be home." Rachel sobbed. "They didn't care to come home before, why would they care to come home now?"
"The courts ordered them to come home." Shelby answered.
"I didn't know." Rachel said. "I didn't know. If I did, I wouldn't have gone. I should have listened to Quinn and Santana when they said it wasn't a good idea. I just really wanted the movie and dress, they mean so much to me. I just wasn't thinking."
"We're going to talk about that later." Shelby said, giving her daughter a stern but loving look.
"What about what my dads did?"
"We don't have to talk about what they did, if you don't want too." Shelby softly said. "The police are going to want to talk to you as it is."
"I had to lie on the bed without my shirt and skirt. I had to tell them everything I told you and Kyle, if they thought I was lying I was hit with the cable across my stomach by daddy." Rachel continued, even as her voice quivered.
She closed her eyes as Shelby pulled back the blanket and wiggled the hospital gown up to her chest. Shelby held back a gasp as she finally got a look at the 14 long, red welts that rose above Rachel's smooth abdomen. Feeling the gown being lowered, Rachel opened her eyes and laid her hand on top of Shelby's, giving her mom a silent motion that she was okay.
"What else happened?" Shelby dryly asked, her eyes drilling into her hand that Rachel was holding.
"I was taken down to the basement, where the girls were being held. I had hidden my phone from them and tried to call you. When I finally got a hold of you, they heard me from upstairs and came down, my phone was broken and I was thrown to the floor, getting yelled at. I got scared that they were really going to hurt me and I kicked dad in the groin. He fell to the ground and Daddy went to help him up so I ran. I tried to go out the front door to a neighbor's but I couldn't get the door unlocked, I was so worked up I just couldn't function and I heard Daddy coming up the stairs so I went up to my room, thinking I could lock my door and climb out the window like I did one time when I was younger. They got my door open and Dad came up to my room and he was really angry. He tried to hit me but he missed I and dove behind the chair in my room. Daddy thought he heard something downstairs and sent dad to check it out. He only went out into the hallway just outside the door and said he couldn't hear anything. The next thing I knew, I heard your voice."
Shelby moved her hands from under Rachel and covered her face, taking a few long seconds to herself. She wanted to scream and punch something, she wanted to break down and cry, she wanted to shaking the living hell out of Rachel for going to her dads, she wanted to hold her baby and tell her she was sorry. Things were too much for the woman, it was all too much. Slowly dropping her hands, she tucked Rachel into the bed, telling the girl she would be back in a little bit. Shelby walked down the hall and out the doors she had come in through. Dropping her body against the cool concrete of the building, she slowly slid down until her bottom reached the ground. Her sobs slipped out of her mouth and she eventually let them all out, sometimes screaming with anger. It was nearly a half an hour later, Shelby pulled out her phone and dialed a familiar number.
"Mom. I need you." The younger Corcoran woman cried into the phone.
"Shelby? Honey?" Ruby Corcoran worriedly replied. She hadn't heard her daughter this distraught in almost 17 years. "What's wrong?"
Shelby poured her heart out to her mom, telling her everything that was happening and what had happened in the last several weeks. She had never told anyone other than Rachel about her dads coming to see her and forcing her to leave Rachel. By the time Shelby finished with her walking out of Rachel's hospital room, she was an even bigger mess.
"Please, just come here. I need help." Shelby begged.
"I will get there as soon as I can." Ruby said. It was only a little after three in the afternoon and with packing and stopping at the gas station to fill up the car, Ruby wasn't expected to arrive in Lima until closer to 9:30. "You need to go be with Rachel. Stay with her and I will be there as soon as I can."
"Thanks, mommy." Shelby choked out.
Exchanging I love you's, Shelby hung up her phone and wiped her face. There was no way she could hide that she was crying, no amount of makeup was going to work, so she didn't even bother to try and cover it up. Instead she got to her feet and entered the hospital once more. Rachel had been taken to x-ray and was back settled in her room. An officer had come to talk to her and Rachel sat in the room alone with the man and told him her recounting of the story. She expected her mom to have returned by now and she began crying when the officer left, thinking Shelby had left her for good. After crying hard for fifteen minutes, Rachel was fast asleep and Shelby quietly crept into the room and sat down in a chair. She linked her hand in Rachel's, kissing the top of her hand. Twenty minutes passed and Dr. Counts returned with the results of her x-rays. In the hall, the two talked to not disturb Rachel.
"Everything came back great and she is free to go. I am having a prescription being sent to the pharmacy down the block, it's just a pain killer and a light sedative, in case she has trouble sleeping."
"Thank you, so much." Shelby breathed a sigh of relief.
"No problem." He said, patting Shelby's shoulder.
Shelby poked her head into Rachel's room and found the girl was still asleep. She dimmed the lights just a bit and left the room once again to check on the other three. Quinn had finished her meeting with the officer and was waiting for Santana and Brittany to finish before they'd go to Rachel's room. Seeing Shelby walking down the hall, Quinn broke down and ran over to Shelby, the woman grunting in discomfort as Quinn clung to her.
"I knew...they...Rachel...tape...yell." Was all Shelby could catch in Quinn's sobbing.
"Calm down, Honey." Shelby comforted, rubbing Quinn's back.
"I was so scared." Quinn squeaked out. "I was so scared for Rachel and what they were going to do to us. I was scared I'd never see you again."
"I'm right here." Shelby hugged Quinn tighter. "Everyone is going to be fine. Okay? Just take nice, calm breaths."
As Quinn calmed down, Shelby walked them over to the chairs she was once sitting in and sat down, pulling Quinn to her lap. Quinn buried her head in Shelby's shoulder, giving random sniffles and a yawn from being tired from crying so much. Shelby held Quinn for quite sometime before Santana and Brittany finished with the police. After seeing Santana and Brittany for a moment, sending them to sit next to Quinn so she could talk with the officers, who had been swapping notes when Shelby was with Santana and Brittany.
Shelby explained the living situation to the lead officer on the case. He was originally going to release Quinn, Santana, and Brittany to their parents but when Shelby told him about the positions he would be putting the girls in, the officer decided to give Shelby 24 hours to figure out another option for the girls besides their own homes. This started to put more stress on Shelby but she took a long deep breath, reminding herself that soon she'd have some help from her mother.
Shelby gathered the girls into another hug and walked them to another waiting area that was closer to Rachel's room. There was a set of vending machines near by and Shelby pulled some cash from the pocket of her jeans, giving them a couple bucks a piece to get something to eat and drink. Shelby stopped at the nurse's station and got Rachel's paperwork filled out. Moving to Rachel's room, Shelby slid the door open and brightened the lights just enough to see. The girl rubbed her eyes and yawned, grimacing at the pain her split lip gave her. Hearing the door open, Rachel's head snapped up to see her mom.
"You're still here." Rachel gasped.
"Of course I am." Shelby said, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"But you left for a long time."
"I know, I just needed some air and to check on the girls."
"You've been crying." Rachel whispered, looking down at her hands. Shelby's eyes weren't as red as before but her makeup was smudged. "It's all my fault."
"No baby." Shelby said, stroking Rachel's cheek.
"Yes it is." Rachel forcefully said, looking back up at Shelby. "If I hadn't gone, you wouldn't have gotten hurt, you wouldn't be crying and you wouldn't be mad at me."
"Slow down." Shelby said, taking both of Rachel's hands in hers. "I am not mad at you, yes I am disappointed that you didn't tell me what was going on but I can understand why you felt you couldn't."
"You still wouldn't have gotten hurt."
"No, I wouldn't have." Shelby agreed. "But just like you, I will get better and honestly, I'm not badly hurt."
"Am I in trouble?" Rachel asked, quietly.
"I don't know yet, Rachel." Shelby replied.
"It's okay if you spank me. I lied to about finishing my test and where I was going to be. And I know you spanking me isn't the same as my dads' punishing me." Rachel said. "You don't have to worry about that."
"I am glad you can see the difference but I think right now we need to focus on you getting better and talk punishments later, don't you agree?" Shelby asked, tucking a chunk of hair behind Rachel's ear. Rachel nodded slightly and leaned against her mother, as much as she could anyway. "I love you, Rachel."
"I love you too." Rachel whispered.
"I don't know what I would have done if anything worse had happened to you. If I lost you again, this time for good, I-"
"Mom, don't. I'm okay." Rachel softly said, playing with the bracelet on Shelby's wrist.
"I know you are but if you hadn't been." Shelby said, smoothing Rachel's hair. "Rachel, you are the most important thing to me in the world."
"I'm sorry." Rachel raised an arm up and wrapped it around Shelby's neck. "Can we go home now? Please?"
"I think the police want to talk to you first." Shelby said.
"They already have, after my x-ray." Rachel replied.
"Crap. I'm sorry I wasn't there."
"It's okay." Rachel shrugged.
"It's not. You wanted me there, didn't you?" Shelby asked. Rachel slowly nodded. "I'm sorry baby, I just had a lot going on with making sure the other girls are okay too."
"Are they mad at me too?" Rachel asked meekly.
"Honey, no one is mad at you." Shelby replied. "Honestly."
Rachel hardly gave Shelby any sign that she understood. Shelby watched as Rachel pushed herself off the bed and held out her hands just in case she lost her footing. Rachel picked up her clothing and began to untie the gown from behind her back. Shelby got to her feet and brushed Rachel's hands away, undoing the last three bows. Rachel let her mom help her get dressed and she stayed behind her mom as they walked out to the waiting room. She peered her head from around Shelby, watching as her sisters gathered their snacks and came up to Shelby. Rachel went back into hiding as the girls got closer and Shelby moved to the side to show Rachel but the girl stepped to be hidden by Shelby once more. Shelby reached back, placing a hand on Rachel's back and pushed her to stand in front of her. Firm hands laid on Rachel's shoulder, keeping her in place and Rachel got fidgety.
"Rach, are you okay?" Quinn asked, throwing her arms around Rachel.
Rachel was bombarded by questions and hugs from Quinn, Brittany and Santana. Shelby moved to be in Rachel's eye sight and gave her an I told you so look.
"I think we should give Rachel her space, she'll answer questions as she feels like it." Shelby said, breaking the girls apart. "We've all had a long day and need some time to absorb all of this."
Shelby ushered the girls to the car, giving front seat to Rachel. A short stop at the pharmacy and they were able to go home. Shelby followed the four girls up the stairs and told them to go into her room. Shelby didn't go into her bedroom right away, she instead went into the guest room and grabbed pajamas for all the girls and finally went into her bedroom. Everyone, especially Rachel, needed a nap in Shelby's eyes. They each looked tired and Shelby needed to get the house in order for her mother's arrival. Tucking them all in, Shelby closed the blinds and turned off the light.
Starting in the guestroom, Shelby unpacked the bags in the closet. Brittany, Quinn, and Santana were each given two drawers of the six drawer dresser for their clothes, the rest were hung up in the closet, leaving a little space between each girls' set of clothes. The empty bags were stacked up in the closet along with the boxes of things that belonged to the cheerleaders. The bed had not been made the morning before school and Shelby sighed, getting to work on fixing up the sheets and blankets.
Leaving the now clean bedroom, Shelby carried the basket of their dirty clothes to the top of the stairs and retreated into the bathroom to straighten that up. It only took her a few minutes to grab the slightly damp towels, Rachel's pajamas from the night before, and Santana's shoes. Ditching the shoes in the guestroom closet, she added Rachel's clothes to the basket. Balancing the basket on her hip, Shelby went down the stairs, heading towards her office but turned into the laundry room just across from the door of her office.
Taking a break, Shelby leaned against the full washer and yawned. While waiting for the girls to get into some pajamas, Shelby had taken a few aspirins and was waiting for them to kick in. She wasn't in severe pain but she was sore. Where she had been kicked, Shelby got a nice big bruise and she had the same marks on her back as Rachel had on her belly, only Shelby's weren't as swollen, thanks to her jacket.
"Mommy?" Rachel's sleepy voice startled Shelby and she turned around.
"Sweetheart, what are you doing up?" Shelby asked. Rachel had her new blanky in her hand and Shelby was trying to figure this one out. Normally Rachel would call her Momma or Ma if she were baby Rachel. Mommy and Mom were reserved for teenaged Rachel.
"I wanna be with you." Rachel shyly said.
Shelby wrapped an arm around Rachel's shoulder and walked her to the livingroom couch. She sat down and had Rachel lay down with her head in her lap. The blanket was crushed against Rachel's face, with a small breathing hole for Rachel to not suffocate. Shelby covered the rest of Rachel with the throw blanket and ran her fingers through Rachel's hair.
Baby mine, don't you cry
Baby mine, dry your eyes
Rest your head close to my heart
Never to part, baby of mine.
Little one when you play
Don't you mind what you say
Let those eyes sparkle and shine
Never a tear, baby of mine.
From your head to your toes
Your not much, goodness knows
But your so precious to me
Cute as can be, baby of mine.
Rachel was asleep by the time Shelby finished singing and she sat just stroking Rachel's hair. It was moments like this that Shelby loved and could never get enough. Shelby glanced at the time and carefully slid from underneath Rachel's head, keeping the girl asleep as she got to her feet. Shelby had a little bit of time left before everyone would be awake and she wanted to get everything squared away.
The livingroom was the next room Shelby focused on, moving about quietly to not disturb Rachel. Movies, video games, remotes, and toys were cleaned up and put away in their designated spot. She dusted the furniture and used glass cleaner to clean everything else. The kitchen was the easiest to clean as it usually was cleaned after every time it was used. She only had to start the dishwasher and wash the counters once more.
It was a quarter after seven when Shelby completely finished the house and began to wake everyone up. Starting with Rachel, Shelby sat on the floor and gently shook Rachel awake. Rachel's eyes cracked open and she let out a soft yawn, rubbing her eyes with her blanket. Shelby helped her sit up and sat next to her, letting Rachel's head take residence on her shoulder.
"Did you sleep okay?"
"Oddly enough it's the best sleep I've gotten in along time." Rachel answered. "There's no chance of my dads taking me away from you, is there?"
"There's a very very very slim chance." Shelby replied. Rachel was certain of this but needed some validation. "I spoke with Kyle while I was cleaning up and he's sure that the judge wouldn't place you back in their custody. Next week Thursday, the adoption papers will be signed."
"Really?" Rachel's eyes widened. "Y-you're signing them?"
"God yes." Shelby said, taking Rachel's hands in hers, bringing one hand up to cup Rachel's cheek. "Rachel, I am signing those papers."
"What if you-"
"I'm not going to change my mind. Never."
"You can't promise on never."
"In this case I can." Shelby said. Rachel tilted her head. "I swear on all that is Barbra."
"But I-"
"Rachel, I mean it." Shelby sternly said. "Nothing you have done or will do will change a thing."
After dinner, Shelby had the girls help with cleaning up the mess and with straightening up her room from their nap. There was just about a half hour before Ruby was due to arrive and Shelby had gotten the girls settled in the livingroom, with Rachel stretched out on the couch, watching a movie. Typically she'd be getting them ready for bed by now but since it was now summer break, Shelby had decided to push their bedtime to eleven at night. Though just for tonight, she was going to be sending them to bed a bit earlier than that. They all had been through a lot that afternoon and Ruby was going to be tired anyway from her trip; everyone was going to want to go to bed early.
Fifteen minutes later, the door bell rang. The movie was paused and all eyes turned to Shelby, who placed down the remote and walked to the door. Quinn and the other two cheerleaders got off the floor and moved to stand behind Shelby. Rachel sat up and peered between Santana and Quinn to watch the scene before her.
"Mom." Shelby excitedly called out, wrapping her arms around her mother.
Rachel bit her lip and grabbed her empty water glass from the coffee table and slipped into the kitchen to hide out. She stood around the corner of the kitchen, backed against the trashcan and listened to Shelby introduce her friends.
"Girls, why don't you go change into your pajamas, brush your teeth and wash your faces. It'll be bedtime soon." Shelby said, sending the three on their way and walked Ruby into the livingroom. "Rac- Where did she go?" Shelby's brow furrowed. She could have sworn Rachel was laying right here a minute ago. A quick look around and she spotted a chunk of long brown hair quickly hiding around the corner. "Rachel, could you come out here and say hello?" Shelby softly asked.
Rachel leaned forward, just enough to show her face and quietly said. "Hello."
"She's a little shy sometimes." Shelby whispered to her mom and walked over to Rachel, reaching for one of her tiny hands, pulling her out into the open and over to Ruby. "Rachel, this is your grandmother, Ruby."
"Lo." Rachel whispered.
"Hi, there sweetie." Ruby said, brushing her hand over Rachel's cheek. "You are just the cutest little thing."
"Thank you." Rachel blushed and looked up her mom. "Can I go upstairs now?"
"Sure." Shelby nodded and the girl hurried up the stairs. It was clear Rachel was uncomfortable. "She'll warm up quickly once she starts getting to know you."
"Of course." Ruby understood.
Ruby and Shelby walked into the kitchen, where Shelby put Rachel's glass by the sink and began preparing a pot of water for hot tea. While the water heated, Shelby sat down with her mom and began explaining the situation a bit better now that she wasn't crying.
"The officer only have me 24 hours to figure out what to do and I hope something will come of the information I have gathered." Shelby said of the information she had collected during the movie.
"What about emancipation?"
"The three have already tried to get me to help them with that." Shelby sighed. "But I have printed out three petitions for them to fill out as a last resort. I was wondering if you'd stay with the girls tomorrow morning?"
"Whatever you need." Ruby nodded.
The next morning, Shelby rolled off the air mattress that was set up in the girl's room. Ruby had originally offered to sleep on the livingroom couch but Shelby had talked her into sleeping in the master bedroom, while her and Rachel shared the blow up mattress. Rachel shifted in her sleep and whimpered out for Shelby.
"It's okay, baby." Shelby quietly whispered, feeling sore from the day before.
It was hard to bend over and move her arms from the pressured pain in her back. If she was this sore, Rachel was going to be worse and because she was still sick, Shelby knew she was going to be in for it when Rachel woke up. This also was another reason Shelby wanted to get home before the girls woke up as she didn't want to leave Ruby alone to deal with the girl. Closing the laundry room door, Shelby got dressed and tossed her clothes in the dirty hamper and crept into her own bathroom to quickly brush her teeth.
Shelby returned home at nine am and pulled into the driveway. Her mom had parked behind her car and so Shelby had to drive the dark purple van. Rachel had been sitting in the bay window, looking out for her mother. As Shelby walked up the sidewalk, passing the window and waved to her daughter with a smile. Rachel didn't do anything but got up and threw open the front door, crashing in her mom.
"Mommy, I missed you. Where did you go? Why didn't you take me?" Rachel asked as Shelby moved them into the house to close the door.
"I missed you too and I had something I needed to do. I would have taken you with but you were sleeping." Shelby said, brushing a wisp of hair from Rachel's face, tucking it behind her ear. "How are you feeling? Your fever seems to be down." Shelby dropped her hand from Rachel's forehead and then lifted up the hem of Rachel's tank top. "How badly does it hurt?"
"I was pretty sore when I woke up but found the pills you left out for me." Rachel said of the medicine she was prescribed. "I took them about a half hour ago and I feel much better. What are we going to do today? Are we going to do anything with your mom? What about the dinner we were suppose to have last night?"
"Slow down, kiddo." Shelby chuckled, kicking off her heels and moved into the house. "We'll figure things out when everyone else gets up. Do you want me to make you some breakfast?"
"I already ate." Rachel said, sticking close to her mom. "And I made muffins too. Blueberry ones; your favorite. Oh and I started your coffee a few minutes ago."
"Thank you." Shelby said, going to the kitchen. She picked up a muffin as she poured a cup of coffee and bit into it. "These are really good Rachel."
"My cooking teacher in middle school taught me how to take regular foods and make them Vegan."
"You can hardly tell that they are vegan." Shelby said, finishing off her baked good. She kissed Rachel's forehead and washed the last of the muffin down with some coffee.
"Good morning." Ruby said, walking into the kitchen, dressed and ready for the day.
"Morning." Shelby said, sliding the plate of muffins to her mom. "Muffin?"
"I knew I smelt something delicious."
"Apparently I have a little baker on my hands." Shelby said, wrapping an arm around Rachel's shoulder.
"You made these?" Ruby asked, trying to get a conversation going with Rachel.
Rachel nodded just softly and tucked herself behind Shelby, pretending to do something at the sink. "I am going to go wake up the other girls, Rachel why don't you stay down here and talk with your grandma about glee or something?"
Rachel's eyes glanced between her mom and grandma and when Shelby moved from her spot in front of Rachel, the girl quickly was on her mother's tail. There was no room between mother and daughter to where when Shelby stopped, Rachel bumped into her. Shelby sighed and took Rachel's hand, moving the girl to sit on the couch while she sat on the coffee table.
"What going on peanut?" She softly asked her shadow.
"I wanna be with you." Rachel said.
"Okay." Shelby slowly said. "And you are with me but I am only going upstairs for a few minutes. Are you nervous about being alone with my mom?"
"No." Rachel shook her head. "I'm not. I want to get to know her but I wanna be with you."
"Give me five minutes and I will be right back." Shelby urged Rachel to have some distance.
Rachel sighed but got up and went over to the kitchen table and sat with her grandma.
"Hi." Ruby smiled.
"Hi." Rachel said, giving Ruby a smile of her own. "Did you sleep okay?"
"Very well, thank you." Ruby replied. "And yourself?"
"Mommy's bed is comfortable, I sleep pretty good on it." Rachel said and went on to answer Ruby's original question. "I slept okay too."
"You look so much like your mother when she was your age." Ruby said, reaching across the table to cup Rachel's cheek. "I can't believe I'm sitting here with you, I never thought I'd see you again."
"You were at my birth?" Rachel asked.
"Yup." Ruby nodded, retracting her hand. "You were the tiniest little baby but you had the loudest cry, making sure everyone knew you had arrived."
"That sounds like me." Rachel chuckled. "I've always been dramatic."
"And you were." Ruby said. "While the nurses were cleaning you up, you started to turn blue in the face. It was the scariest moment of my life; watching you be worked on to get you breathing again. After you were back to a decent color, you glanced over at your mom and I. It was like you were trying to tell us everything would be okay. Then you were rushed to the NICU and that was the last we saw of you."
"I never knew I stopped breathing." Rachel quietly said.
"Your mom was so worried and wondered if you were alive or not and what you were going if you were." Ruby continued. "When she saw you at sectionals, she called me crying and telling me you were alive. For three hours she cried and repeated she's alive and she's beautiful momma. She wants you, baby and nothing is ever going to change her mind."
Rachel's eyes filled with tears and Ruby was taken back as the girl stood up and threw her arms around her neck.
"Thank you so much." Rachel said. Hearing the story of her birth and how Shelby reacted to seeing her years later, Rachel felt more at ease about not feeling as if Shelby was going to leave her at any moment. There was worry still looming around but Rachel felt things would be okay for now. She stepped back away from her grandma and wiped the few tears that had fallen. "Sorry, I sometimes don't think about other people's personal space. I should have asked before I hugged you."
"Don't worry about it, Rach. Us Corcorans love to give and receive hugs, especially if you need one." Ruby said.
"Cool." Rachel smiled. "I think I'm gonna go and get dressed before everyone else decides to do the same." Rachel said. "My mom should be back down soon, so you wont' be alone for long."
"Don't worry about me." Ruby laughed. "Go on ahead."
Rachel walked upstairs, Santana and Quinn passing her on the stairs with hello's and good morning's as they went. Shelby ushered Brittany out of the bedroom and towards the stairs, heading to her room. However, Rachel appearing at the top of the stairs, stopped her.
"Rach? Is everything okay?" Shelby asked, seeing Rachel's slightly wet eyes.
"It is now." Rachel nodded, giving Shelby a smile before wrapping her arms around Shelby's midsection. "I know you're not going to leave me right now and I'll make sure you never want too but I at least know I have you here right now."
"I am so happy to hear this." Shelby said. She decided not to tell Rachel that there was nothing she could do that would make Shelby leave her but for the moment, Rachel seemed content. Telling Rachel over and over that she wasn't leaving wasn't having much effect on Rachel. The girl needed to be shown that Shelby wasn't going anywhere and the mom was going to keep proving just that.
The crew piled out of Ruby's van and walked into the mall nearly three hours later. Rachel walked around the car and linked her finger's in Shelby's, the mom held on tight and led the way into the mall. Instantly, Quinn, Santana, and Rachel wanted to go off on their own but Shelby replied with a firm no and walked them to the food court.
"But why mom?" Rachel whined.
"Santana." Shelby ignored Rachel's whine and glanced over her shoulder, getting the cheerleader's attention. "I'd like for you to come with me for a moment, the rest of you need to stay put. Understood?"
Shelby placed a hand on Santana's shoulder and walked her through the food court.
"What's this all about?" Santana asked.
"Sit down." Shelby said, pointing to a free table and the two took a seat. "I spoke to your father this morning."
"You what?" Santana softly exclaimed.
"It wasn't something I was planning to do but I have very little time to figure out a new home for the three of you."
"You're sending me to live with the man who abandoned me and my family?"
"San, your mom lied to you and your siblings about why your dad left. I told him about your current situation with your mom and her boyfriend and he wants to help. Your mom has also lied about some other things regarding your dad and that's going to make it hard for your dad to get custody of you, so we're going to take you to see my lawyer, Kyle, and get you emancipated. Your dad lives 15 minutes away so you'll still be able to attend McKinley."
"What about our sessions?" Santana asked.
"I told your dad that you come over to our house to hang out with Rachel and eat dinner with us to avoid going to your mom's. I asked him to allow you to keep coming over while you are trying to get to know him. He has agreed and doesn't mind if you only spend a few nights a week at his place while you're adjusting." Shelby said. "Either he'll pick you up or I will take you home."
"And if it doesn't work out?"
"You'll hopefully be emancipated and in that case you can leave if you want too." Shelby informed her. "So, um, the reason we are here is because your dad wants to spend a little time with you to talk and what not. I thought you'd be more comfortable with meeting him in a more public setting than dropping you off at his house and this way, if anything happens, I'll be right here."
Santana nodded and they talked for a little while longer before Shelby spotted Julio Lopez. Santana walked beside Shelby as they went to her dad and the moment Julio saw his little Santana, his eyes welled up with tears. For one of the first times Shelby saw Santana crying in her adult form. She'd seen three year old Santana cry but not 16 year old Santana. Julio wrapped Santana in his arms, feeling his daughter tensing for a second but she relaxed just as quickly.
"Papi." Santana cried.
"My little Tana." Julio said, his own tears falling down his face. He opened his eyes and saw Shelby watching with watery eyes. She knew exactly how he was feeling and she couldn't help but peer over to her own child. "Thank you Miss. Corcoran. Thank you so much."
"Shelby. Call me Shelby."
"Thank you, Shelby."
"You're more than welcome." Shelby smiled. "I'll leave you two alone and take as much time as you'd like."
"Wait, Papi." Santana said, pulling back. "Could I bring a friend along? Well she's more than a friend."
"Of course." Julio agreed. "I would love to meet her."
"I'll send her over here." Shelby said as she walked away. "Brittany, Santana would like you to meet her dad and spend the day with them."
Brittany was shocked but nodded and went over to Santana and Julio.
"That's her dad?" Quinn asked as they headed off to do their own shopping.
"Yeah, as it turns out he's not such a bad guy after all." Shelby said, glancing over her shoulder and saw Santana smiling and laughing as her and Brittany laughed at a joke Julio had made.
"I've never seen her so happy." Quinn said.
"Is she going to live with him?" Rachel asked.
"Eventually but for now she'll be going back and forth for a while." Shelby answered.
"She's lucky." Quinn whispered, watching her friends behind her.
I know there hasn't been much age play but I wanted to get the living situation out of the way. Next chapter will probably be all age play with Shelby and and Ruby. Now that the living situation is getting figured out, there will be more age play.